Entries tagged with: Liars

We love year-end lists -- reading them, making them, arguing about them. BrooklynVegan editors Andrew Sacher and Bill Pearis have once again figured out their favorite albums of the year which you can check out, with commentary, below. Someday we may be able to come to an agreement on an official BV year-end list, but as you'll see there's not a lot of commonality between their two lists. (Specifically, there is zero commonality.) Which is ok! Diff'rent Strokes to rule the world. This year, they've also added their Top 20 favorite songs as well.

Ahead of the label's annual Brooklyn showcases, label co-founders Joe Steinhardt (also of Modern Hut) and Zach Gajewski (also of Nuclear Santa Claust), and several DG bands including Screaming Females, California X, Worriers, Crow Bait, Laura Stevenson, Brick Mower and Mal Blum have given us lists of their favorite albums of 2014. You can check out those lists below.

The 2015 showcases happen on February 6, 7 and 28 at Knitting Factory with Nude Beach, Shellshag, Crow Bait and more on night 1; Cali X, Downtown Boys, Pinkwash, Worriers and more on night 2; and Screaming Females, Priests, Tenement and Vacation at the final show. Tickets are still available.

UK music site Drowned in Sound is kinda the British equivalent of Pitchfork, albeit with a very strong community aspect to it. They just published their 50 Favourite Albums of 2014 list and while it contains many of the LPs we've been seeing on a lot of these lists, it's a distinctly not-American point of view. Well, at least their #1. Check out the whole list below...

Now that it's December, Best of Lists Season is in full swing. If you're already tired of seeing ones that haveThe War on Drugs at the top (or near it), you can always rely on UK website The Quietus to offer up something different. They just published their "Albums Of The Year 2014" and topping it is electronic artist Gazelle Twin's second album, Unflesh. Say The Quietus:

On Unflesh, Gazelle Twin - aka Elizabeth Bernholz - doesn't see dualism as an academic exercise or a philosophical plaything. Instead, it's born of bloody experience as she claws and digs her way to its gory, physical core. Puberty, anxiety, miscarriage, illness and euthanasia are all present, and Bernholz's treatment of them ranges from a shuddering disgust to vengeful catharsis to something approaching tender acceptance.

The Quietus' list is not without names familiar to readers of our site -- Swans, Scott Walker & Sunn O))), FKA twigs, Aphex Twin, Future Islands -- but it definitely does not follow the beaten path.

Check out The Quietus' full "Albums Of The Year 2014" (and stream a few songs from their #1) below...

We're just over a month away from 2015 and those UKyear-endlists keep pouring in. Now British music mag Uncut has posted their 75 Best Albums of 2014. Looks like their winner is becoming a popular choice for #1, and the rest of their top 10 is split between real-deal veterans (Leonard Cohen [falling just a tad from his 2012 #1 spot], Robert Plant) and rising newcomers (FKA twigs). Elsewhere the list has a lot of the indie-related albums that keep popping up, a good deal of folk/country, more veteran appearances, and a certain opinionated UK duo who have appeared on every UK list we've seen so far and make their US debut this week.

As they usually are, Rough Trade Shops are one of the first this year to post their favorite albums of 2014 list. It's 100 albums long and mostly filled with the bigger indie and indie-related releases of the year, but there's a few surprises in there too. Mark Kozelek will not be happy to see that The War On Drugs placed #2, 8 higher than the Sun Kil Moon record. Mark should be proud that he made the list not once, but TWICE though. His Christmas album landed at #84. Run the Jewels, who are not on it all, have started a "Suck My Dick Rough Trade" chant. Check out their full list below and see more on each album here.

The Modern Sky Festival has existed for seven years in China and it began its first-ever US edition yesterday (10/4) in NYC at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield. Day 1 included the William Onyeabor tributeAtomic Bomb! which had a very impressive lineup of hip hop vets Dead Prez, free jazz pioneer Pharoah Sanders, Peaking Lights, Sinkane, Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor, South African group The Mahotella Queens, Beastie Boys collaborator Money Mark and more (rollerskaters included). Considering Modern Sky began as a Chinese festival, a couple of the openers were Chinese acts -- Deserts Zhang Xuan and Rebuilding the Rights of Statues -- and they were followed by art rockers Liars, and reunited post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers.

The Blood Brothers played an 11-song set that was packed with fan favorites from throughout their career including "Fucking's Greatest Hits," "Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck," "Set Fire To The Face On Fire" and more (full setlist below). Their reunion has been very well-received so far and yesterday's show was no exception. They do it again in NYC at the BrooklynVegan-presented show at Warsaw with Violent Bullshit tonight (10/5).

Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O kicked off her run of intimate shows (four in NYC included) this past Tuesday (9/9) at McKittrick Hotel's Manderley Bar (pics) (home of Sleep No More), and the following night's (9/10) show saw her joined by three other 2000s NYC indie greats. One was her own YYYs bandmate Nick Zinner (again), who joined for a few songs, who joined for a few songs including "Day By Go" which also included Julian Gross of Liars (who is also her designer) on tambourine. Then, during the encore, Vampire Weekend singer Ezra Koenig joined for their Her collaboration, "The Moon Song." Last night (9/11), Daniel Kessler of Interpol was in the audience, as he just tweeted from Interpol's official account.

UPDATE: This post initially said that Julian Casablancas joined Karen, but despite reports elsewhere to the contrary, Karen O's publicist tells us that it was Julian Gross of Liars and not Julian Casablancas, who joined on tambourine that night (and the following night).

Karen's run of shows wraps up tonight (9/12) at Le Poisson Rouge, which like the previous three, is sold out. Will any guests join her at this one too? After the NYC run ends, Karen continues with three nights at LA's Hollywood Forever Cemetery, two London shows and a Berlin show.

Pharmakon is streaming "Body Betrays Itself" off of her forthcoming album Bestial Burden, the followup to her critically acclaimed 2013 debut Abandon. The song's a good one -- it pulses ominously along with Temple of Doom drums, while one-woman force Margaret Chardaret screams and wails over top. You can listen to it below. If you want to hear more, the album is out on Sacred Bones on October 14.

As we've mentioned, Pharmakon is touring Europe with Swans (again!) this fall. She was also scheduled to play an NYC show at Death By Audio on August 29 with Una Bestia and La Misma, but she's since had to drop off -- she's traveling to China for a couple dates with Liars, including Bejiing's Modern Sky Festival (which is getting a NYC edition) -- so NYC fans will have to wait.

Pharmakon recently sat down with Pitchfork to talk about the new album--head over there to read their Q&A. Otherwise, all tour dates are listed, along with the new song stream, below...

Modern Sky Festival has already existed for seven years in China, and this year the first US edition of the festival will take place in NYC on October 4 & 5 at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield. It's got a pretty cool lineup, including The Blood Brothers, Liars, Atomic Bomb! The Music of William Onyeabor (lineup TBA, but the last one featured David Byrne, members of Hot Chip, Bloc Party, Blood Orange, The Rapture and more), Cat Power, Stars, The Both (AImee Man & Ted Leo) and more. Full lineup below. Tickets, including single day passes and 2-day passes, are on sale now.

The festival happens not long before Stars release their new album, No One Is Lost (due 10/14 via ATO), so maybe we'll hear some new material from that.

Manimal is releasing a Duran Duran tribute album, Making Patterns Rhyme: a tribute to Duran Duran, on July 15, with all proceeds going to Amnesty International. The comp features Warpaint, Little Dragon, Moby, Austra and more. Moby's cover of "Rio" was released recently (stream below), and now the cover of "Sound of Thunder" by Toronto shoegazers Beliefs can be streamed below as well. They've turned the song into one of their own (reverby vocals, swirling guitars), and it's not the first time they've put their spin on a classic song in the past year.

Liars made their way from Austin Psych Fest to NYC for a wild, strobe-filled show at Le Poisson Rouge last night (5/8). Jana Hunter, who opened with a great cover of Hall and Oats' "Maneater", opened the show. Pictures from it are in this post.

It was a great set from Liars -- which now includes Pit Er Pat / Boredoms' Butchy Fuego on drums -- but we'll save our commentary for after tonight's show in Bushwick at The Wick (where Marnie Stern played last night). Tickets for the Brooklyn show will be available at the door if you're looking for last minute plans. Their tour continues Saturday in MA.

Liars never ever sound hollow. There's a fine line between wankery and worthy experimentation, and thanks to their passion, Liars always make for a worthy live show. It doesn't matter if it's not your cup of tea, and you spent all day catching the deciduous vibes of campfire acts like Woods. Seeing three compelling weirdos go nuts on stage will always cast an impressive silhouette.

There was a moment towards the beginning of their set when the power snapped off and they spent a few minutes working out the problem. Once it was figured out, Angus reengaged the crowd with a couple old-fashioned "How are y'all doing tonight?1" calls. That's right, for a few moments a noise band cared about its audience. - [Austin Chronicle]

Liars headlined the first night (5/2) of the 2014 Austin Psych Fest. It was one of the first times the band -- which now includes Pit Er Pat's Butchy Fuego on drums -- have performed since releasing Mess, their terrific, accessible, danceable new album. Pictures from Psych Fest are in this post.

NYC gets its first taste of Messtonight (5/8) at Le Poisson Rouge and tickets are still available. They also play Friday (5/9) at new Bushwick venue The Wick and tickets are still available for that show too. Jana Hunter of Lower Dens opens both shows.

If you'd like to see Liars at The Wick for free, we're giving away a pair of tickets. Details on that, plus more APF pics, below...

The new single from Liars' excellent album Mess is "Pro Anti Anti" which, in the opening seconds, sounds like it's going to be some '90s house jam until the distorted synths come crashing through the wall like Kool-Aid Man. One of the remixes for the song is by Manchester's Factory Floor (who were just in NYC) who pull the stems apart and rebuild the song in their own acid image. Stream it (via The Quietus) below.

Record Store Day 2014 is Saturday (4/19) and there are upwards of 800 RSD exclusive titles released worldwide this year. Which is clearly too many. But if you're reading this now you're probably at least thinking of going out and joining the throngs of music fans, record collectors, and eBay types trying to get all the stuff on their list. Or maybe you're going out to check out some in-store performances, or just hoping to have a couple free beers.

We've already written about a whole lot things being released this year. But we've got more. BV editors Andrew Sacher and Bill Pearis each picked 11 RSD exclusives they think are worth the dough. (Ten just wasn't enough.) What titles are you looking for this year?

Owing a whole lot to late '80s EBM, New Beat and industrial while sounding very much in the now, Liars' new album, Mess, is their most immediate and danceable in ages. (It's also, for what it's worth, my favorite of 2014 so far.) If you've had "Mess on a Mission" on repeat and have wanted more, the whole Mess is streaming over at NPR and the album's out next week (3/25).

In other news, Liars will release "Mess" as Record Store Day 12" on clear vinyl that has colored yarn imbedded in it. That's what it looks like above. There is also a new Black Bananas remix of "Mess on a Mission" which you can stream below.

You can also catch Liars live in NYC in May where they'll play Le Poisson Rouge (5/8, tix) and The Wick (5/9, tix). The band have added a few other select shows to their schedule since we last posted and updated dates are listed, along with streams, below.

Liars will release their terrific new album, Mess, on March 25. There's some undeniable industrial/EBM influence on this one, but at the same time it's their catchiest, most immediate record in ages. (It's really good.) You can stream single "Mess on a Mission" and the Silent Servant remix of it below.

Liars are playing Austin Psych Fest and Sasquatch in May and in between those fests they'll playing a few shows, including two in NYC: Le Poisson Rouge on May 8 and The Wick on May 9. Tickets to both LPR and The Wick are on sale now.

Austin Psych Fest returns for its 6th year from May 2-4 at the Carson Creek Ranch, and since we last spoke, the festival's lineup has been expanded to now include The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Panda Bear, The War On Drugs, Graveyard, Mikal Cronin, Bombino, Peaking Lights, Pink Mountaintops, The Fresh and Onlys, Sleepy Sun, The Octopus Project, Bardo Pond, Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band, Morgan Delt, Cosmonauts, Pure X, Guardian Alien, Mark McGuire, Greg Ashley and more.

They join previously announced bands like Loop, Black Angels, The Zombies, of Montreal, The Horrors, Black Lips, Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks, Liars and more. Unfortunately, Primal Scream, who had to cancel their US tour, are no longer playing. APF Tickets are still available.

The fest has also announced that there will be kickoff parties the Thursday (2/1) before at Mohawk and Red 7 with sets from The Warlocks, Night Beats, Indian Jewelry, Elephant Stone, Golden Animals, Holy Wave and more TBA.

Liars will release their seventh album, Mess, via Mute Records on March 25. That's the cover art above and tracklist is below. Following 2012's glitchy, introverted WIXIW, frontman Angus Andrew says this one is quite different:

We are a reactionary, or maybe a better word is schizophrenic band. We go from one extreme to the other. Working on the last record was really doubtful and paranoid, and that's fine, but it just meant that when work started on this one, it was the exact opposite. It was way more instinctual, fun and confident.

The first single, "Mess on a Mission," definitely backs that statement up, it's a real banger, the kind we haven't heard Liars do in a while. You can stream it below.

MoMA PS1 Warm Up closed out August with a bang on Saturday (8/31) with one of the most stacked, varied line-ups of the season, featuring live performances from bands Liars and IO Echo, plus sets from Cajmere, Lil Silva, Jon Hopkins and Sam Valenti IV. Pictures from all their performances are in this post.

Meanwhile, Jon Hopkins (who played Cameo later Saturday night) just released a track with Bat For Lashes (who played this weekend too) on vocals. You can watch the video for that below.

Even though the season doesn't official end until September 21, Labor Day (9/2) is generally seen as the end of summer and the last chance for NYers to get out of town and relax. Mind you some people find a half-empty city just as relaxing as a beach, and for those who will be in town this weekend there are lots of live music options. Head below for our Top 10 Labor Day Weekend music picks...

As discussed, UK electronic musician Jon Hopkins is returning to North America this month for Warm Up at MoMA PS1 on August 31. It's one of the better Warm Ups this year, with live sets from indie bands Liars and IO Echo, plus '90s Chicago house vet Cajmere, and another solid UK producer Lil Silva. Tickets for that show are still available.

After Warm Up ends, Jon Hopkins will keep the party going by heading to Cameo for a midnight show. Tickets for that show are on sale now. Flyer below. Jon's new album, Immunity, is one of the most forward thinking dance albums of the year, and if you hadn't heard it, you can listen on Spotify and stream a track below.

Lil Silva will also be playing a late show in Brooklyn that day. HIs is a LAZERPOP party happening at Glasslands (11:30 PM) with L-Vis 1990, Slava, and Peter Fonda. Tickets for that show are on sale now. He's releasing a new EP, Distance, next week (8/5) via Good Years. You can watch the video for its track, "No Doubt," along with a list of all dates, below.

FILTER Magazine's Culture Collide festival is returning to various LA venues this year from October 9-12. It begins with a kickoff show with Phoenix and Dinosaur Jr (maybe they'll join each other for "Entertainment"?) at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (10/9), which tickets (separate from the rest of the festival) are on sale for now.

Then, the rest of the fest will include sets from Liars, King Khan & the Shrines, The Raveonettes, Rhye, Iceage, The Men, Medicine, Fuck Buttons, No Joy, Heliotropes and many other bands from around the world. Festival passes that you get in to all non-Phoenix/Dinosaur Jr events are on sale now.